Radions or Orphek Atlantik's?

[BoomCorals]

Thanks Boom. I am not sure why the 3 xr15's keeps coming up, it's 4 that I would be using. What's your thoughts on the 4?

Same issue. Problem is those pucks in a line cannot get to the edges on a 24” wide tank.

 

[bubbaque]

Same issue. Problem is those pucks in a line cannot get to the edges on a 24” wide tank.

That's the issue I worry about with any of the leds. The orphek is only 9" wide.

 

[BoomCorals]

That's the issue I worry about with any of the leds. The orphek is only 9" wide.

I don’t recall exactly how coverage was when I had the V4. I think I had coverage issues with just the one V4 unit. Two I imagine would cover fine? (I hope)

People forget frag tanks are not reef tanks. When you’re trying to cover a 48”x24” x12” space packed with acros, it’s not the same as a 48”x24”x 18”+ reef tank with live rock, scaping, etc. Shallow tanks where corals are 6” below the surface do not get the benefit of “reflecting” light like you do in a regular tank.

 

[bubbaque]

I don’t recall exactly how coverage was when I had the V4. I think I had coverage issues with just the one V4 unit. Two I imagine would cover fine? (I hope)

People forget frag tanks are not reef tanks. When you’re trying to cover a 48”x24” x12” space packed with acros, it’s not the same as a 48”x24”x 18”+ reef tank with live rock, scaping, etc. Shallow tanks where corals are 6” below the surface do not get the benefit of “reflecting” light like you do in a regular tank.

You said "had" the V4. Why do you no longer have it? Two would be the same as the radions, in a straight line across the middle of the tank.

There might be some reflection as I grow them on tiles. How much that reflects I don't know.

 

[Caravanshaka]

Good discussion going on here, thanks @BoomCorals for chiming in with experience as well!

When my lights hit daylight today I will try and get my par meter out and see how good the coverage is front to back.

I think ideally for Wall to Wall SPS in that size frag tank, I would get 3 XR30’s or 3 compacts and mount them perpendicular.

Btw, the Orphek v4.2’s are now coming with a free gateway.

Another option might be Reef Reefers...Adam uses them with great results at battlecorals. The diodes are more spread out like the Orphek, so shadowing is reduced.

 

[BoomCorals]

You said "had" the V4. Why do you no longer have it? Two would be the same as the radions, in a straight line across the middle of the tank.

There might be some reflection as I grow them on tiles. How much that reflects I don't know.

Correct. I ended up with all halide or T5 after testing pretty much every LED there is. I don’t want to spend $2500 per tank I want to light when I can spend $700 on halide. And the wattage usage of radions or orphek or sbreef we’re not much lower than 500w of halide. A single xr30 running 100% uses around 140w.

 

[bubbaque]

Correct. I ended up with all halide or T5 after testing pretty much every LED there is. I don’t want to spend $2500 per tank I want to light when I can spend $700 on halide. And the wattage usage of radions or orphek or sbreef we’re not much lower than 500w of halide. A single xr30 running 100% uses around 140w.

I agree with what you are saying. I wish I could go t5's again but the heat is just too much.

 

[AriMiko43]

I am currently running a orphek v4 and orphek compact over a 48” x 24” x 16” along with 2 orphek or120 led bars. Unfortunately I just did the switch a week ago so can’t give you much info on growth. I can tell you the coverage is great with no shadowing.

I am not even running the lights at max output because the par it puts out is over 700. The lights are mounted about 16” off the water surface. I am running 30% white, 70% blue, 40% uv and 8% red and green. Orpheks customer service has been great with me in getting everything set up and running.

I am also looking into setting up a frag tank in my garage to grow out all corals but I am thinking of 2 orphek compacts over a 54” x 35” x 13”. I figured I can crank one compact over the sps section with high par and the other over lps and softies with lower par. I am also wondering how water temperature will be in the summer/winter being I live in the northeast.

Good luck on your build and sorry I couldn’t provide more info for you. I’ll be subscribing to follow along.

 

[AriMiko43]

I am currently running a orphek v4 and orphek compact over a 48” x 24” x 16” along with 2 orphek or120 led bars. Unfortunately I just did the switch a week ago so can’t give you much info on growth. I can tell you the coverage is great with no shadowing.

I am not even running the lights at max output because the par it puts out is over 700. The lights are mounted about 16” off the water surface. I am running 30% white, 70% blue, 40% uv and 8% red and green. Orpheks customer service has been great with me in getting everything set up and running.

I am also looking into setting up a frag tank in my garage to grow out all corals but I am thinking of 2 orphek compacts over a 54” x 35” x 13”. I figured I can crank one compact over the sps section with high par and the other over lps and softies with lower par. I am also wondering how water temperature will be in the summer/winter being I live in the northeast.

Good luck on your build and sorry I couldn’t provide more info for you. I’ll be subscribing to follow along.

 

[AriMiko43]

Sorry don’t know why it posted twice.

 

[gig 'em]

I have been running the Orphek V1 for 6 years and have always been happy with it. I can't comment on the Radions since I've never had one, but I've always been turned away from them because their diodes are pretty condensed in small areas whereas Orphek has diodes spread out and creates fewer shadows. I lost control of my V1 when the USB port corroded, so I am upgrading to V4. I'm curious to see how the spectrum changes on it, but I'll probably be throwing it over my frag tank with some supplemental lighting to cover any dead spots.

 

[Wu Tang Clam]

Hi I have been using the Orphek Atlantik v4 for nearly a year now and I have to say they grow acropora and sps like weeds(we all know lighting is only one element of reef keeping)
But I’m more than pleased with the kind of light it provides

I’m using 4 units

 

[Ken Lee]

Hi I have been using the Orphek Atlantik v4 for nearly a year now and I have to say they grow acropora and sps like weeds(we all know lighting is only one element of reef keeping)
But I’m more than pleased with the kind of light it provides

I’m using 4 units

Is it the shadowing effect comparable to pure T5s?

 

[Ken Lee]

Correct. I ended up with all halide or T5 after testing pretty much every LED there is. I don’t want to spend $2500 per tank I want to light when I can spend $700 on halide. And the wattage usage of radions or orphek or sbreef we’re not much lower than 500w of halide. A single xr30 running 100% uses around 140w.

Just wonder from the heat standpoint, is it Orphek when all channels are 100% is much cooler than Halide?

 

[Wu Tang Clam]

Is it the shadowing effect comparable to pure T5s?

Ken,

There the best leds have ever been at producing a blanket of light but similar to t5 you are aiming to cover the whole of the waters surface with units to provide full coverage and minimal shading

Heat wise they run way cooler than halide
Currently running at around 40deg directly at the heat sink (which is the full foot print of the unit)
Cooled by 4 large fans per unit these are virtually silent even now
It’s 32deg outside and these are not making a sound

The old radion these replaced used to scream at 100% intensity!!!

 

[Ken Lee]

Ken,

There the best leds have ever been at producing a blanket of light but similar to t5 you are aiming to cover the whole of the waters surface with units to provide full coverage and minimal shading

Heat wise they run way cooler than halide
Currently running at around 40deg directly at the heat sink (which is the full foot print of the unit)
Cooled by 4 large fans per unit these are virtually silent even now
It’s 32deg outside and these are not making a sound

The old radion these replaced used to scream at 100% intensity!!!

Thanks for the valuable feedback, u have an impressive tank there mate.
Base on your current program how many wattage it draws at peak? BTW how is the light mixing, is there any bothering disco light effects? Since your tank without hood, is it V4 glaring enough that cause your eyes uncomfortable?

 

[Wu Tang Clam]

Cheers ken!!

Well my nutrients are very low at the moment I have just been on holiday and the tank was on very minimal feeding.
so a few weeks prior to going away I brought my intensity down to around 600 watts at peak
But I essentially have just over 1000 watts of power to use if needed

Colour blending is perfect when mounted at 17 inches above water line.
But I have mine lower because my tank is Euro braced

The construction of the lamp is kind of a laminated design of various layers of acrylic
The leds are individually lensed and this reduces glare from the sides of the lamps
I will say they are heavy units!!!

 

[Ken Lee]

Cheers ken!!

Well my nutrients are very low at the moment I have just been on holiday and the tank was on very minimal feeding.
so a few weeks prior to going away I brought my intensity down to around 600 watts at peak
But I essentially have just over 1000 watts of power to use if needed

Colour blending is perfect when mounted at 17 inches above water line.
But I have mine lower because my tank is Euro braced

The construction of the lamp is kind of a laminated design of various layers of acrylic
The leds are individually lensed and this reduces glare from the sides of the lamps
I will say they are heavy units!!!

Cool, Thanks again mate.

 

[BoomCorals]

Just wonder from the heat standpoint, is it Orphek when all channels are 100% is much cooler than Halide?

At 100% with as many orphek as I’d need I would say it’s only a tad cooler. 1 watt of lighting is 1 watt of heat regardless of the source.

 

[Caravanshaka]

At 100% with as many orphek as I’d need I would say it’s only a tad cooler. 1 watt of lighting is 1 watt of heat regardless of the source.

I dunno, I’ve been running mine at 80/100/100/80 for channel intensity and my tank team goes up 0.2 degrees max with no fans mounted to blow across the water. With dual 250w radiums, my temps would rise 2 degrees in 6 hours with fans.

 

[Reefcowboy]

I have an Orphek V3+(isnt as good as the V4, but close) and ran G4’s on my previous sps tank.

Orphek is a better light. Coverage is better and the spectrum is wider. Im back to Halide as nothing in the Led world comes close to it in coloration, but that a discussion for another thread.

If I were to run led only, a V4 would be it. Many top growers use G4’s because of sponsorship, but Im positive if they ran V4’s they would be surprised.

Orphek are some serious lights

 

[madweazl]

There are a lot of great reasons to choose either, but the word from a LFS employee about some generic study probably not one of them. What a retail shop does, or a research institution (allegedly?) is using when not directly testing a light is really of no consequence. If the dude/gal did give you some specifics, I would LOVE to read about some coral spawning research - the only stuff that I know about is in Hawaii and Fiji and they use natural sun and 1000w MH.

I believe this is what was being referenced.